Circe by Madeline Miller -> Restarting July 3rd, 2022

[Trisha]

through 22

Yes (view spoiler)[ I am equally skeptical. something kills her son - well before his time
I worry another god will toy with them. . .
I wish we could trust Penelope. I hope what she has said was true

and so sad of Odysseus, that he couldn't settle after so much war. (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

and I'm done
I loved this one

(view spoiler)[ I had no idea she would end with Penelope's son, but interesting twist that she did. I don't blame her for wanting to be human. The world of gods never seemed to fit her
I loved how the story ebbed and flowed, depending if Circe was alone on the island or entertaining or being a mother. It had a good rythm and I loved flowing with it. (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

FINALLY managed to focus on this one!

Chapter 1 – 5 : (view spoiler)[So this took me a LOT of time to get into, like ~3 days to read 2 chapters lol. Mythology isn’t my genre and honestly I know nothing about it at all. So the starting was a hella lot confusing for me. All the names and who married who, whose child is whom left me kinda rattled. But it did get better 3rd chapter onward and now I am hooked. Judging it so far, I am either going to love it or hate it (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 6 – 10 : (view spoiler)[Circe’s family is so cruel!!!! I am really liking the storyline so far. Somehow I incorrectly assumed that this would be a kind of mythological romance but I am so happy that the focus is solely on Circe herself so far. IF there’s a romantic angle here somewhere I would definitely like to see her with Hermes! (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

yes! I don't typically like Mythology tales either so I had no idea who was who and if the book was accurate! lol

I hope you love it!

[Kira]

I just hope it doesn't turn all about romance and then I'd be good lol!

[Kira]

Yay! I loved this!

Chapter 11 – 15 : (view spoiler)[This is all so confusing for me lol, I don’t know who the characters are supposed to be or if I should be excited by their appearance. Odysseus does seem interesting though, I only hope he stays for more than a few chapters. So far it looks like everyone playa a small role in the story as a whole and getting to know all these characters only for them to not appear again is becoming a teeny tiny bit bothersome (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 16 -20 : (view spoiler)[I feel like Circe is always left alone by people she is close to and I am so angry for her….even his son sailed away to his father and it was so clear Circe hadn’t wanted him to. I am getting the feeling that something bad is about to happen that will leave Circe enraged and heartbroken… (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 21 -25 : (view spoiler)[I really loved this installment. Although Circe’s son left, she is still going on strong and she may end up with Penelope’s son? I find that slightly awkward but to hell with it, she deserves whatever makes her happy! (hide spoiler)]

Finished : (view spoiler)[WOW. OK I LOVED THAT ENDING.
“sea. I thought once that gods are the opposite of death, but I see now they are more dead than anything, for they are unchanging, and can hold nothing in their hands.” – I AM AMAZED!
No wonder Circe wanted to be a human and I am so so happy for her that she got what she always wished for no matter how much everyone in her life tried to pull her down!
5 stars!(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

YAY! I'm so glad you loved it! I did too and I didn't have a real good memory of who all the gods were and how I was supposed to already know them from some other story. I liked how it gave us just a few details so we at least knew what the god was known for!

[Kira]

Trisha wrote: "YAY! I'm so glad you loved it! I did too and I didn't have a real good memory of who all the gods were and how I was supposed to already know them from some other story. I liked how it gave us just..."

Exactly! I felt a little out of the zone a few times but it quickly sucked me in with brilliant writing and just enough information to keep me interested!

[Andy]

Re-started this today, only at chapter 2. I hope it holds up it's spot on my favourite. For now I can just say the writing is spectacular. Someone commented that Circe was weak in this book, but I feel she does have strenght in doing her own thing regardless of all the others.

[Andy]

Chapter 5: the writing is absolutely amazing! :)

(view spoiler)[Glaucos' story is really well done, he's a prick, I wish Circe would unleash something on him instead of Scylla. Maybe she does later... (hide spoiler)]

[Andy]

Chapter 8: (view spoiler)[I really like Circe's transformation. It's a very good example of learning and growing / getting to know oneself. (hide spoiler)]

[Andy]

Chapter 11: (view spoiler)[Well Pasiphae had more depth than I remembered. Interesting! (hide spoiler)]

[Andy]

Chapter 14: (view spoiler)[Well, there never was a better reason for turning someone into a pig... (hide spoiler)]

[Andy]

Chapter 18: (view spoiler)[I love so much that she wanted the child and yet motherhood hit her hard. Also awful Athena! Grrr! (hide spoiler)]

[Andy]

Chapter 20: (view spoiler)[I love the lenghts Circe goes to keep her son safe. I think it really shows her strenght. (hide spoiler)]

[Andy]

Finished: I really really loved it! :)
(view spoiler)[I like that the ending is a little bit ambiguous. But I was thinking... All three of Circe's long time lovers are from the same family...? (Hermes is the ancestor of Odysseus, the father of Telemachus...) (hide spoiler)]

[Trisha]

yay!! I'm so glad you liked it

Right?! (view spoiler)[ she does seem to have a thing for this line of family! lol (hide spoiler)]

I loved the ending too!

[Andy]

Trisha wrote: "yay!! I'm so glad you liked it

Right?! [spoilers removed]

I loved the ending too!"

Glad you liked it, too! :) I really adored it!
The thing with that line of family was just funny! :P I guess they all have cleverness and other things in common... ah! :P